Joseph Kosinski (born 3 May 1974 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American film director of Irish, French-Canadian and Polish descent.
He pursued an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on Design at Stanford University and a Masters Degree in Architecture at Columbia University and became a teacher in these fields and CGI modeling, though he would eventually turn to film directing.
Disney noticed his experience in CGI modeling, and he made his big screen directorial debut with the 2010 sequel to TRON, TRON: Legacy. He followed up with Oblivion, his first partnership with Tom Cruise. His second partnership with Cruise, Top Gun: Maverick (the long-awaited sequel to Top Gun), ended up striking gold, becoming the most acclaimed and second most successful blockbuster of 2022.
Kosinski's directed films include:
- TRON: Legacy (2010)
- Oblivion (2013)
- Only the Brave (2017)
- Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
- Spiderhead (2022)
- Apex (TBA)
Tropes & Trivia in his works:
- Creator Thumbprint: He started off as a graduate and adjunct professor in architecture; this can be observed in the designs of the buildings and other materials in the worlds of his films which are all very carefully thought out.
- He Also Did:
- Oblivion adapts a comic book he created. Said comic book never got published.
- He's directed award-winning trailers for video games, such as "Mad World" for Gears of War, "Unity" for Assassin's Creed: Unity, and "Become Legend" for Destiny.
- He directed the music video of Lady Gaga's song "Hold My Hand" from Top Gun: Maverick.
- Production Posse:
- Miles Teller has appeared in three of his films, and Tom Cruise, Jeff Bridges, Taylor Kitsch, Jennifer Connelly, Jake Picking and Charles Parnell have appeared in two films each.
- Cinematographer Claudio Miranda has worked on all of his films to date.
